Creamy Iced Coffee

  • Creamy Iced CoffeeThis is the caffeinated elixir that will become your go-to on a hot day.  It’s so good that it might become your go-to on a cool fall day, too, and quite possibly on a blustery cold winter day.  The best part about it is that it’s SO easy (yes, SO in caps), so you don’t have any excuses here… none of this “I don’t feel like baking because it’s so hot, but I’m in the midst of a massive sweet craving”, or “I’m too lazy so don’t feel like making anything even though I have a horrendous sweet tooth”.   Here’s your answer.  And the caffeine will kick you out of lazy mode… hidden benefit.

    There are two options in terms of how you prepare your coffee for this drink… one is Super Fast (hot brewed like normal, and a bit of a corner-cutter), and the other option is Fast But Not As Fast As Super Fast (cold brewed and legit- it’ll take at least 12 hours to steep and develop its’ concentrated goodness, but then you’ll have it on hand for future drinks).  Starbucks who?  Cheers!

    Adapted from Food & Wine’s recipe… makes 1 drink

    1 cup strong coffee (see note below for your two options)

    3 – 4 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

    4 tablespoons half-and-half cream

    1. Prepare coffee according to the option of your preference below; chill in fridge.
    2. Fill a shaker cup large with ice and pour in coffee, sweetened condensed milk and cream… shake well to combine.  (Alternative if you’re too lazy to go and get your shaker cup out of the bar: pour all wet ingredients into glass and stir well, then add ice to fill the glass.)

    Tips:

    • Coffee brewing options:
      Hot Brew Super Fast:        Just brew your favorite (strong!) coffee as you usually would and then refrigerate it.  (This method is poo-pooed by “experts”, but whatever.)
      Cold Brew Fast (But Not As Fast As Super Fast):  In a large bowl, steep 1/2 pound of your favorite coarsely ground coffee beans with 6 cups of cold water for at least 12 hours.  Strain through a fine-mesh sieve (lined with cheesecloth or a paper towel to avoid little bits of coffee from getting in the liquid) and reserve for use; this will keep in the fridge for up to a week.  (This is the legit way to make this recipe.)
    • What’s that you say?  You’d like a bit of mocha?  Nice idea.  You could squeeze a tablespoon of chocolate syrup into the drink (add more or less to taste), or stir a teaspoon of cocoa powder /hot chocolate powder in with the sweetened condensed milk before pouring in with the coffee & cream.
    • Crazy idea: try freezing some of the strong coffee into an ice cube tray, and use instead of regular ice.  No more diluted iced coffee blues by the time you get to the end of your cup.
    • Watching your waist?  Sub milk for the cream… and skip the whipped cream for sure if you’re going for the blender route below.
    • Crazy blender idea: take all of the ingredients for one drink and throw them in the blender (with the ice)- mix until a nice frothy drink emerges.  This drink would look great with whipped cream on top, of course (take 1/4 cup of fresh heavy cream and beat with a tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar until peaks form… using a chilled bowl makes beating a more successful mission, FYI).  You can skip the whipped cream if you feel the need to (but it’s so much fun); add cocoa powder on top (pour a bit into a sieve and shake gently overtop for a more uniform cocoa sprinkle).
    • Enjoy!

     

    Print Friendly, PDF & EmailClick Here to PRINT This Recipe Now!

    Related Recipes & Posts:


    June 3rd, 2012 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: , ,

Leave a Reply

* Name, Email, and Comment are Required